Richard R. Ernst Biography

Swiss Scientist and professor Richard R. Ernst (born 1933) received
the 1991 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his pioneering work in the
development of techniques for high-resolution nuclear magnetic
resonance spectroscopy. Because of his work, nuclear magnetic
resonance techniques became valuable tools in chemistry and also found
application in other sciences.

The contributions of Nobel Prize-winning chemist Richard Robert Ernst
proved far-ranging, as his work in the area of high-resolution nuclear
magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy led to the development of magnetic
resonance imaging, which would become one of the most valuable
non-invasive diagnostic imaging technologies available to medical
professionals.

Ernst was born on August 14, 1933, in Winterthur, Switzerland, to Robert
Ernst and Irma Brunner. Ernst later described his hometown as a place of
both artistic and industrious activity, and this would influence both his
recreational and career pursuits. At an early age, he learned how to play
violincello and demonstrated an interest in musical composition. However,
he also became fascinated with chemistry. This interest took hold when he
was 13 years old. While exploring the family attic, he discovered a case
filled with chemicals that had once belonged to his late uncle, who was a
metallurgical engineer. Through this discovery, Ernst became intrigued by
the possibilities of chemical reac-

tions. He soon began cultivating this interest by reading all of the
chemistry books that he could get his hands on. Subsequently, he realized
that he would rather be a chemist than a musical composer. "I
wanted to understand the secrets behind my chemical experiments and behind
the processes in nature," he later said in his 1991 Nobel Prize
autobiography.

Studied Chemistry in College

Pursuing his fascination with chemistry, Ernst would later enroll at the
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Eidgenössiche Technische
Hochschule) in Zurich (ETH-Z). At the same time, he continued his own
studies through outside reading. In particular, he cited
Theoretical Chemistry
by S. Glasstone as being very influential, as it revealed to him the
fundamentals of quantum mechanics, spectroscopy, statistical mechanics,
and statistical thermodynamics. These subjects weren't typically
addressed in academic lectures, he would later point out.

At ETH-Z, he received his undergraduate degree in chemical engineering in
1956. He received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 1962, working on
high-resolution NMR, a field that was then in its infancy.

Moved to America

After Ernst received his Ph.D., he wanted to leave the academic
environment and find an industrial job in the United States. He moved to
Palo Alto, California, where he took a position as a chemist at Varian
Associates and sought practical applications of his research. Ernst had
received numerous offers, but he chose Varian because the firm employed
well-known scientists such as Weston A. Anderson, Ray Freeman, Jim Hyde,
Martin Packard, and Harry Weaver. They were conducting lines of research
similar to the ones Ernst had pursued in Zurich. Moreover, they were
seeking commercial applications for their research, which attracted Ernst,
as he felt it would provide further motivation for his own work.

While at Varian, Ernst worked with Anderson to make NMR spectroscopy more
sensitive. They based their work in part on NMR experiments reported in
1945 by Felix Bloch at Stanford University and Edward Mills Purcell at
Harvard. Bloch and Purcell had demonstrated that various atomic nuclei
could be knocked out of alignment in a strong magnetic field when exposed
to a slow sweep of radio frequencies. Further, these nuclei would respond
by realigning to resonant frequencies and emit a signature similar to that
of a chemical signature. This pioneering research garnered Bloch and
Purcell Nobel Prizes.

Purcell foresaw NMR becoming a valuable tool for chemical analysis.
However, before that prediction could become true, researchers needed to
overcome the limited sensitivity of the early NMR method to the chemical
signature of the substance being analyzed. Up to this point, only a few
substances (including hyrdrogen, fluorine, and phosphorus) had spectra
strong enough for consistent identification.

By 1966 Ernst and Anderson dramatically enhanced NMR spectra by replacing
the problematic slow sweep of radio frequencies with short pulses of high
intensity. As a result, spectra that was once too weak for identification
was now clearly distinguishable. Computer advancements had made this
possible. "Of major importance for the success of more advanced
experiments and measurement techniques in NMR was the availability of
small laboratory computers that could be hooked up directly to the
spectrometer," Ernst said in 1991. "During my last years at
Varian (1966–68), we developed numerous computer applications in
spectroscopy for automated experiments and improved data
processing."

Spectra that resulted from exposure to the pulse of radio frequencies were
complex. But to evaluate the spectra, Ernst employed the Fourier
transformation, which new computer technology could employ to reveal the
small fluctuations of brightness in the NMR spectra. Subsequently,
Ernst's discovery facilitated analysis of substantially more types
of nuclei and smaller amounts of materials.

Advanced NMR Spectroscopy in Switzerland

When Ernst took a job in the United States, one of his goals was to leave
the academic setting forever. However, in 1968 he returned to Switzerland
and the ETH-Z in order to teach. He became an assistant professor in 1970
and a full professor in 1976.

During this period he developed an even more sophisticated contribution to
the field of NMR spectroscopy: a
technique that enabled a high-resolution, two-dimensional analysis of
larger molecules than had previously been accessible to NMR. The technique
replaced single pulses of radio frequencies with a sequence of pulses. As
a result, scientists could now analyze the three-dimensional structures of
organic and inorganic compounds and of proteins and other large biological
molecules, or macromolecules. Further, they could study interactions
between biological molecules and other substances such as metal ions,
water, and drugs, and they were able to identify chemical species and to
study the rates of chemical reactions. Ernst's work would provide
the basis for the development of magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, which
would become one of the most important diagnostic tools available to
medical professionals for diagnoses. It also allowed scientists to gain
crucial information about the chemical environment of molecules that they
studied.

Won the Nobel Prize

As a result of the impact of his work, Ernst was honored with the Nobel
Prize in Chemistry in 1991. That same year he earned the Louisa Gross
Horwitz Prize at Columbia University, along with colleague Kurt
Wüthrich. The two scientists received the Horwitz prize for their
efforts in developing NMR methods that revealed the behavior and structure
of complex biological molecules, or macromolecules. Ernst also received
the Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 1991. The awards were an illustration of
just how widespread the use of his MRI method had become in clinical
studies.

In fact, Ernst learned that he had received the 1991 Nobel Prize in
Chemistry while he was onboard an airplane flight to receive the Horwitz
Prize. In this rather dramatic set of circumstances, the aircraft's
pilot called Ernst to the cockpit to give him the news about the Nobel
award.

In awarding Ernst the Nobel Prize, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
lauded his contribution to NMR spectroscopy. Specifically, the Academy
noted Ernst's development of the methodology of high-resolution NMR
spectroscopy as the most important instrumental measuring technique within
chemistry. "NMR spectroscopy has during the last twenty years
developed into perhaps the most important instrumental measuring technique
within chemistry," the Academy noted. Underscoring Ernst's
impact, the Academy further stated, "This [development] has
occurred because of a dramatic increase in both the sensitivity and the
resolution of the instruments, two areas in which Ernst has contributed
more than anybody else."

Accomplishments and Interests

Before and after receiving the Nobel Prize, Ernst continued his research
at ETH-Z. Since 1990 he has been president of the institution's
Research Council, and he has served as a professor in the laboratory of
physical chemistry. Ernst's research has involved molecular
interaction, specifically how molecules interact with each other and how
they change their shapes. The work brings into play both chemistry and
physics as well as quantum mechanics.

In addition to the Nobel Prize, the Wolf prize and the Horwitz prize,
Ernst was awarded for Achievements in Magnetic Resonance EAS in 1992. He
is a member of many international institutions, including the American
Physical Society, the International Society of Magnetic Resonance, the
Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher, the Royal Society of London and the
science academies of India and Korea. He also serves on the editorial
boards of several journals dealing with magnetic resonance. The book he
published on NMR is considered a classic among the leaders in the field.
In addition, Ernst holds several patents for his inventions.

Along with chemistry, Ernst still counts music as one of his major
interests, and he remains an enthusiastic musician. He also collects Asian
art, an interest he cultivated during a trip through Asia in 1968, and is
especially interested in Tibetan scroll paintings.

On October 9, 1963, Ernst married Magdalena Kielholz. The couple had two
daughters, Anna Magdalena and Katharina Elisabeth, and a son, Hans-Martin.
All three children grew up to become educators. He indicated in his
autobiography for the Nobel Foundation Website that his wife was
especially supportive throughout their marriage and his career. "I
am extremely grateful for the encouragement and for the occasional
readjustment of my standards of value by my wife Magdalena who stayed with
me so far for more than 28 years despite all the problems of being married
to a selfish work-addict with an unpredictable temper," he recalled
in 1991. "Magdalena has, without much input from my side, educated
our three children."

Ernst attributes his scientific success, in large part, to being in the
right place at the right time. "Looking back, I realize that I have
been favored extraordinarily by external circumstances, the proper place
at the proper time in terms of my Ph.D. thesis, my first employment in the
[United States] … and in particular having had incredibly brilliant
coworkers."

In an interview with
Physics Today
, he expressed surprise about the impact of his work, NMR spectroscopy and
MRI. "I did not expect that it would become as useful and practical
as it has," he said.